A Great Awakening(2026)

PG-13
Rated PG-13 for brief violence.
2h 9m
- Drama
- History

Release Date: Apr 3, 2026 | Wide

The American colonies are fracturing. Into that moment steps the Reverend George Whitefield — a preacher whose open-air sermons draw crowds of thousands and begin reshaping how a generation thinks about faith, freedom, and what it means to be a people. His unlikely friendship with Benjamin Franklin becomes one of the quiet forces behind what will eventually become a revolution.

Releases

Original Release | Apr 3, 2026 | Opens in 06days

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Director & Top Cast

Joshua Enck
Director

John Paul Sneed
Benjamin Franklin

Jonathan Blair
George Whitefield

Zachary Amos
Oxford Servitor

Carl MJ Anderson
Fish Vendor

Garrett Anderson
Sedan Chair Carrier

William Connor Anderson

Sedan Chair Carrier

Seth G. Antes

London Theatre Guest

Stephen Atherholt

Gunning Bedford Jr.

John Atwood

Entitled Student

Jordan K. Awe

Entitled Student

Timothy Ryan Bartlett

Oxford Servitor

Josh Bates

Alexander Hamilton

Johnathan Bauer

Holy Club Member

Kendall Beiler

Sedan Chair Carrier

Becca Bender

Parody Female Performer

Jeff Bender

William Johnson

Christopher Bergamo

Drunk Sailor

Other Details

Country of Origin: United States

Language: English

Summaries

Plot Summary

A Great Awakening is a 2026 American historical drama written and directed by Joshua Enck, and produced by Sight & Sound Films, the Lancaster County theatrical company making only their second feature film. Jonathan Blair plays the Reverend George Whitefield, the English evangelist whose 1740s preaching tours across the American colonies ignited the religious revival known as the First Great Awakening. John Paul Sneed plays Benjamin Franklin, Whitefield's unlikely friend, promoter, and philosophical foil. Josh Bates plays Alexander Hamilton as a younger figure in the colonial world that the film depicts, with Stephen Foster Harris and Zac Johnson in supporting roles. Set against the tense, fractured years of pre-Revolutionary America, the film frames the First Great Awakening as the spiritual underpinning of what would later become the political independence movement — arguing that the fight for liberty was first awakened in churches and fields before it reached courtrooms and battlefields. Principal photography took place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, including Ronks and East Earl Township. Distributed by Roadside Attractions with a nationwide theatrical release on April 3, 2026 — timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence. Rated PG-13, running 2h 9m. Best suited for audiences drawn to faith-based historical drama and those interested in the religious roots of American national identity.

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Fun Facts

A Great Awakening (2026) dramatizes the unlikely friendship between Reverend George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin during the First Great Awakening, a spiritual revival that unified pre-Revolutionary American colonies. Set amid colonial tensions, Whitefield's fiery sermons spark mass conversions while Franklin—initially skeptical—becomes his key promoter, discovering that true liberty begins in transformed hearts.